


burned cupcakes, love, and other things

by eviruu



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Baking, Fluff, M/M, they hold hand and cuddle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 12:30:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18031772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eviruu/pseuds/eviruu
Summary: Baking was never his forte, but that doesn’t mean he won’t keep trying. Even if that means his wallet is slowly getting alarmingly empty with the packets of flour he keeps buying with each attempt.





	burned cupcakes, love, and other things

**Author's Note:**

  * For [itsukishus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsukishus/gifts).



His fingers sting with a tinge of pain from the hot tray, even with the cloth gloves he quickly stuffs onto his hands once the timer sounded with its trademark chime. Closing the oven shut with his elbow, he practically dashes to place the tray onto his kitchen counter, immediately discarding his gloves to rub his hands to get rid of any residing burning sensations. 

 

Once the discomfort leaves his hands, Mao turns his gaze towards the tray of cupcakes. At first glance, the top is dark, way darker than a cake is supposed to turn out. It’s almost ash black. Definitely not a good sign.  

 

Despite the discouraging sight, Mao pinches a small piece off one of the cupcakes, tossing it into his mouth as he ignores the pinprick of heat that blossoms on the tip of his fingers (probably not a good idea to eat it without waiting for it to cool down but he’s impatient).

 

He bites. He chews. He winces.

 

A bitter taste fills his mouth and coats his tongue, causing him to instinctively reach for his bottle of water placed at the side, taking in gulps of water as if it is now his only salvation. 

 

With the freshness of water now clearing his throat, Mao assesses his baked creations. It’s burned, that’s for sure, but he can taste a lingering tanginess and sweetness in them...  even if they are just merely in the background. It’s progress! Though, he definitely can’t hand these as gifts to his partner.

 

Mao moves it to the side, along with his past failed attempts of underbaked, too sweet, too dry and a bunch of others he can no longer even remember. He’ll find a use for all of them later... somehow.

 

Perhaps he should have just accepted Ritsu’s offer of help; he is using his childhood friend’s recipe after all. But, he wants to make it by himself with only his own hard work. He wants to make something that puts all his love and affection on display and culminates in a great big smile on his partner’s face. 

 

Just picturing that gentle grin, the light crinkles around his eyes when he smiles, his face flushing red with happiness… Mao’s ready to start again. He scans over the printed recipe sheet and moves for the first step.

 

  1. _Preheat the oven…_



 

His gaze shifts towards said oven; there’s definitely no need to do that again, the appliance is plenty warmed from all his past attempts. On to step two:

 

  1. _Whisk together eggs, oil and sugar until smooth._



 

Grabbing a clean bowl, one large enough to hold the ingredients (he won’t make the same mistake again), Mao cracks an egg by the side. A light tap and a visible fracture appears along the shell, only to break fully in half as he splits it over the bowl, causing the bright yellow yolk and translucent white to pour right into it. He measures out the sugar in a cup and the oil in the tablespoon, both subsequently dumped in, forming three distinct layers of ingredients. Almost like a measured practice at this point.

 

He takes hold of a whisk, slowly incorporating all the ingredients together. It’s a surprisingly harder task than he first expected, especially since he’s grown a lot stronger after training as an idol. His task finishes quicker than expected, the thick yellow mixture streaming down the side of the metal whisk. Mao turns back to the recipe.

 

  1. _Stir in tomato soup, followed by flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ground nutmeg._



 

Mao grimaces at the first ingredient. Why did he ask for such an odd recipe with this specific odd ingredient? Ritsu’s face even shifted into disgust as Mao had asked for it. But... it is something that Rei likes. He’s always drinking that tomato juice so he’s sure to enjoy a tomato soup cupcake, right?

 

He tips the can into the bowl, watching as the red soup blankets the batter. Instinctively, he stirs it but quickly abandons the task to reach for the rest of the forgotten ingredients. One and a half cups of flour, a teaspoon of baking soda and half a teaspoon of salt make their way in, forming a small hill of white powder above the yellows and the reds. Mao adds in cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg too, trying to not pay any mind to them. Spices can be surprisingly expensive. And a pain to his wallet.

 

Whisking all of it in, the batter quickly turns to a pleasant color of vermillion, almost resembling a thick, creamy tomato soup itself. It doesn’t look bad to be perfectly honest, it even seems like a lighter shade of Rei’s eyes. Well, at the very least, it’s a much better cupcake batter than the others. 

 

From the drawer, Mao takes out a set of cupcake liners. A new package this time (his wallet cries in the corner). Setting them evenly across the now cool tray, he scoops small portions into each one. Gently and carefully, making sure not to overfill or underfill them. Baking is a fine art; he learnt that the hard way.

 

After a short while, the liners all get filled. The crinkly black liners form a backdrop for the cupcakes, the red standing out and popping right into his vision. Mao swiftly puts on his gloves back on again (he’s still astonished by the quality of them, especially since they’re made by the leader of the handcrafting club) and picks up the tray, balancing it on one hand as he opens the oven, sliding them in to bake.

 

He sighs in relief. This batch seems like it’ll be a success. 

 

Mao makes his way over to the living room where he all but collapses onto the couch. To say that he’s tired would be an understatement. He barely fully relaxes before a pair of hands cover his eyes. They’re smooth and soft and by now, Mao recognises that touch.

 

“Sakuma-senpai, just because I gave you a spare key to my house doesn’t mean you should just come in here all the time,” Mao sighs but a smile blooms across his lips anyway. He pushes away the hands by his face, holding one of them in his own, the familiar grip easing him into relaxation. “Welcome home, I guess.”

 

His heartwarming chuckle fills the room as Rei leans into Mao from the back. “Good to see you again, darling.”

 

Mao pulls on Rei’s arm, forcing the latter to bend over. From his position on the sofa, he can see every inch, every detail of his partner’s face. His eyes, his nose, his lips, his smile. It’s all utterly and absolutely beautiful. 

 

A squeeze on his hand is what breaks him out of his reverie, the two still intertwined together, but his focus is only left in an even bigger daze as Rei moves in closer, so much so that his face is only a small distance away from his own. Mao can feel his breath on his cheeks, that soft warmth that gently caresses his skin, that takes him further away to a pleasant, fulfilling plane. 

 

And that comforting heat moves closer and closer, brushing against his blushing face until electricity strikes. Their lips collide and they kiss, softly yet passionately, kindly yet ardently. It’s nothing they haven’t done before but it always surprises Mao with how gentle Rei conducts this; it’s nothing like his shoujo manga with the fight for dominance with tongue. Instead, it’s like a careful exchange, each exploring the other with tenderness, the slight nibbling here and there only drawing him in further.  Mao presses the kiss in, intent on pushing this experience to a even more pleasurable extent, leaning completely in his partner’s grip.

 

Rei separates after a while, leaving Mao wanting but not before the vampire presses an extra small kiss on his cheek. A smirk covers Rei’s face and he laughs the softest sound, saying, “Happy Valentines Day.”

 

Mao smiles back, his mind completely filled of his lover, “Happy Valentines Day to you too.”

 

The affectionate atmosphere hangs in the air and for a moment, it was as if everything Mao sees is softened with that loving fondness that envelops his entire being. He really loves Rei Sakuma. He’s amazing, beautiful, wonderful and absolutely gorgeous. To him, Rei is everything.

 

He watches as Rei turns his gaze to the kitchen and lifts a finger up to point towards it, asking, “Are you baking something?”

 

“Oh crap!” Instantly, Mao shoots up, scrambling to run to the forgotten oven and the baked cupcakes that remained within it. He had completely forgotten to set a timer. He could only hope they were not burned.

 

“You’re adorable when you’re flustered,” Rei laughs again, walking right behind Mao. “Of course, that’s why I love you, Isara-kun.” 

 

Quickly tossing on his gloves, Mao practically yanks the tray out of the oven. It’s a miracle that none of the cupcakes fall onto the floor with the force of his action. He sets them onto the kitchen table. From first glance, they don’t appear to be burned. The beautiful vermillion from before peaks out and Mao breathes a sigh of relief.

 

Rei slinks in closer to him, almost pressing their bodies together as he reaches for one. Before Mao could warn him about how hot the cupcakes are, Rei pops a whole handful into his mouth, somehow not even flinching from the heat. Mao waits with bated breath for his partner’s response, gulping with anticipation for the results of his trials and tribulations.

 

“They’re delicious,” Rei sings out and a bright beam shows itself on Mao’s face. He has succeeded.

 

And his efforts were definitely worth it; the smile on Rei’s face is the most dazzling he has ever seen.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a ride!! I'm sorry this is so late aaaa. I had a lot of fun writing it, even though it was of a ship I wasn't really familiar with haha. My eyes have definitely been opened to more rairpairs! 
> 
> Thank you to @lTSUKlS on twitter for such a great prompt! I know you just said to let them hold hands but,, I kinda expanded on it so I hope it was to your liking! 
> 
> Chat to me on twt @tennplate about enstars or any other fandoms in general!


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